Teens with same-sex parents as normal as peers

Teenagers raised by two women appear to be as well adjusted as those who are raised by male-female couples, a new report indicates.

"Their adjustment is pretty normal - that is, indistinguishable from a matched group of kids being raised by opposite-sex parents," said study author Dr. Charlotte J. Patterson of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Specifically, teens with same-sex parents appeared to be no more likely to have psychological problems, struggle at school, try intercourse, or have problems at home, the investigators found.

Critics have argued that same-sex parents "may in some way harm the children that are raised in these households," Patterson told AMN Health. "And I think that our results speak to that concern, to some degree."

Previous research about children raised by same-sex parents has shown that by and large they tend to fare as well as their peers raised by a man and woman.

One study of teenagers raised by divorced lesbians found they had similar self-esteem as teenagers of divorced heterosexual parents, and appeared to fare better if their mothers had a partner living at home, their fathers were supportive of the relationship, and they learned of their mothers' orientation when they were relatively young.

To investigate further how teenagers fare with same-sex parents, Patterson and her colleagues reviewed information collected from a national sample of 44 12- to 18-year olds - 23 girls and 21 boys - living with mothers in same-sex partnerships.

The researchers compared those adolescents to 44 teens with mothers in opposite-sex relationships.

As reported in the journal Child Development, the investigators found that, overall, teens with parents in same-sex relationships appeared to have relatively high levels of self-esteem, little anxiety, few signs of depression, and to do well in school.

They were no more likely than other teens to have symptoms of depression, problems with self-esteem, or anxiety. They also reported feeling equal levels of warmth from their parents, and caring from adults and their peers.

Moreover, teens with mothers in same-sex unions appeared to get comparable grades, and be just as likely or unlikely to get in trouble in school. They were also no different in whether or not they had had sex, or been in a romantic relationship in the previous 18 months.

Patterson noted that teens who appeared to be most well adjusted in school also tended to have a particularly warm and close relationship with their parents. Clearly, parental closeness is connected to teenage well-being, she added; whether one causes the other is still unclear.

SOURCE: Child Development, November 2004.